In 2015, members of the Physical Anthropology section of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) voted to formally change the name of their section to “Anthropology.” To provide historic context for this decision, when the section was proposed and accepted by the academy in 1972, its name was meant to identify its members as physical anthropologists who applied their expertise to the identification of human remains in medicolegal contexts. In recent years, however, there has been increasing interest in broadening membership in the section to include archaeologists and cultural anthropologists who have made important contributions to medicolegal investigations—in particular, to investigations of mass graves and human rights violations. However, because neither archaeology nor cultural anthropology had their own sections in the AAFS, individuals in those fields could only join the General Section if they wanted to apply for membership. After extensive discussion, the members of the Physical Anthropology section voted to be more inclusive by removing the word “Physical” from the section name. Although this change is not expressly mentioned by contributors to this volume, those who practice forensic archaeology frequently speak of the challenges of explaining what they do to academic colleagues, law enforcement, death investigators, and the public. Multiple chapters in this volume (the Preface and Chapters 1, 2, 3, 6, 13) focus on these issues and make it clear that forensic archaeology has had some growing pains in its attempt to increase visibility and recognition as a forensic science. As the editors note, most of the contributions to this volume emerge from a series of symposia and conference papers given at annual meetings of the Society for American Archaeology since 2004 with the objective of drawing increasing attention to the field.
Contributors to this volume demonstrate through case studies, advances in field methods, and interdisciplinary collaborations (Chapters 7, 12) that forensic archaeology indeed can make significant contributions to medicolegal investigations. Examples include developing new methods for missing persons searches, doing detailed reconstruction of events through careful excavation and crime scene documentation, and employing recent developments in remote sensing and 3D digital documentation.
The 20 chapters in this volume are organized into four parts: (1) theoretical frameworks, (2) forensic archaeological contexts, (3) multidisciplinary techniques and methods, and (4) case studies. The 24 contributors (primarily from the United States and the United Kingdom but also from Canada and Nigeria) come from diverse backgrounds, including traditional academic departments, contract archaeology firms, consulting laboratories, and government agencies. The topics covered are equally diverse, ranging from the application of palynology to forensic investigations (Chapter 12), various methods for search and recovery of missing persons (Chapters 8, 9, 15, 16, 20) and victims of fatal fires (Chapters 10, 18), mass mortality events and human rights violations (Chapter 5), and documenting damage to archaeological sites and the illegal sale of artifacts and human remains (Chapters 11, 14, 17, 19). A thread that runs through every chapter is the importance of recognizing the unique demands of forensic investigations in terms of professionalism, confidentiality, and coordination with crime scene investigators and law enforcement (see especially Chapters 3, 6, 13).
This book will serve as a useful reference for those who wish to understand the diverse contributions that forensic anthropologists make to medicolegal investigations and the challenges this relatively young forensic science field faces in gaining visibility and recognition. It joins and complements a growing number of books, book chapters, and journal articles on the subject. For those interested in a part-time or full-time career in forensic archaeology, training programs and employment opportunities are limited, especially in the United States, but there is some room for optimism as the field continues to mature.
